Shattered Reflection
by Dragon Claw92
Summary: It's Hallows' Trio in Metru Nui, the three-day festival where people dress up in costumes and, in some cases, get scared witless. However, Not all is as festive as it seems. Why won't Nuju come outside? Only time will tell... ON HIATUS: Until InTheLightHija returns, this story will not be worked on due to the guest appearance of an OC.
1. Chapter 1: Stick in the Mud

A sharp knocking on the door shook Vakama from his thoughts. Face going a little red, the Toa of Fire picked up his belt and hat, hurrying for the door. "Coming! J-just a moment!" The giggle outside betrayed to him that it was Nokama, and his face flushed darker. Shakily putting his belt on first, Vakama opened the door, his breath escaping him when he saw Nokama's costume. Her hair pulled up in an almost impishly youthful and pretty way, a pair of see-through, sparkle-spattered fairy wings were visible on her back, her dress was knee-length, strapless and pale blue, with transparent, sparkle-covered cloth over top of the skirt to give it more definition, and her slippers sky blue with a little curl at the back on her ankle. As for her make up, her face was covered with sparkles, her eye shadow bright and glittery blue, and her lips a soft pink.

Vakama's jaw dropped slightly as he looked her over. "Y-you… y-you look… s-stunning!"

Nokama giggled as she trailed her finger down his forehead before poking his nose. "Aw, is my pirate king star-struck?" She teased, only making Vakama's face go further red than before. Trying desperately to recover, the Toa of Fire put his hat on, fussing awkwardly with the large plume of a feather that was stuck in it.

"I-I… Uhm…. W-well I…" He could hear Onewa laugh from just a little ways down the street, something else that didn't help him with getting himself back in order. He eventually just shook his head, trying to ignore his Brother's laughter. "S-so… wh-who are we finding next?" Nokama giggled again as she watched him.

"Well, Matau said he'd meet us here, and Whenua's probably heading for Nuju's house already, which means we just have to wait for him to show up."

It didn't take long for Matau to arrive, as his tell-tale crow of glee as he narrowly avoided a crash landing gave away his location. He blinked, however, when he saw that he and Vakama had the same costume. "What? Aw, that's not cool-nice!"

Onewa snickered quietly before adding his two bits. "I suggested he be a monkey, but he didn't think that fit too well." Vakama choked on a quiet laugh, trying to hide it so he wouldn't seem rude.

Nokama just gave a faint laugh as she shook her head at the whole thing. "At least he isn't the same thing he was last year, Onewa. Now then, before we start arguing about who's wearing what, let's go get Nuju and Whenua. I'm sure they're both wondering where we are."

However, when they did finally reach Nuju's house, they weren't met with their two Brothers. Instead, they were met with a very perplexed and bothered looking Whenua, presently dressed up as a ninja, pacing outside Nuju's front door. No lights were on inside, save one near the top of the knowledge tower, and even then it was dim. Looking at the others with exasperation, the Toa of Earth said tiredly. "I've been trying to coax him to come down for at least an hour now, and he's just refusing to budge."

Nokama seemed surprised by this. Normally when Nuju said he'd do something, he kept his word. "Did he say anything about why he wasn't coming?" She asked with curiosity, her expression worried.

Whenua shook his head, pulling his mask off and ruffling his jet black hair a bit to get some cool air to his skin. "Not a word. He just said he wasn't feeling up to coming out tonight, and doesn't even give an explanation as to why."

Onewa looked highly annoyed by this. Walking over to the intercom and pressing the button, he said into the microphone, his tone mildly heated. "Oy, Nuju, are you coming out and keeping your word, or are you just going to stay up there and be a kill-joy?" There wasn't an answer. "I'm talking to you, Nuju!" Still nothing. Rolling his eyes, Onewa looked back at the others. "Come on, let's just go. If he wants to be a stick in the mud about it then just leave him. He doesn't deserve to come with us if he's just going to be a jerk about it."

Nokama fixed Onewa with a harsh stare, though she said nothing to contradict him. The truth was she was worried about what was going on. Was Nuju sick? Was he just in a bad mood? Shaking her head and heaving a heavy sigh, she turned and started walking down the street. "Maybe he'll come along later." She said hopefully, though deep down she doubted he actually would. "He might just have a headache." She got a series of grumbles as her Brothers responded, though she took note that Vakama was oddly quiet. He seemed bothered about something, and she was clearly wondering what. She hadn't seen that bothered, almost haunted look in his eyes since he'd had his last vision, but surely he hadn't seen anything new. Everything had been quiet for ages, and the threat of a Makuta attack was minimal. Passing off his expression as concern for Nuju, the Toa of Water just shook her head a little and continued walking. Little did she know that Vakama really did have a vision, and the content of which was too disturbing a tale for him to even want to believe could happen. It was the sort of vision that nobody would want to believe in.

Sadly, it was also the sort of vision that was destined to occur, and the sickening feeling Vakama had was simply the calm before a horrific storm. This year's Hallows' Trio would be one that nobody would ever forget.


	2. Chapter 2: Potential Investigation

As the evening wore on, there was still no sign of Nuju, and Vakama was starting to get highly uneasy. More than a few times Nokama had asked him to tell her what was wrong, and he had only said he was concerned for Nuju's health. The Toa of Fire hated only telling her partial truths, but what could he say? Telling her that he'd had another vision would have ruined all the fun of the festival for her, and everyone else. However, even as he stood there, forcing a smile to hide his unease, he couldn't help but let the vision replay over and over in his mind.

_There he stood, trapped in a hall full of mirrors. He and Resa were the only ones there, as Nokama had just been dragged into the glass by some unknown being. All around him the bodiless reflections of his comrades showed them trying to break out of the glass, their faces pale and their expressions terrified. Nuju was nowhere to be seen, and even as Vakama stood there, watching and trying to find any trace of the being who was causing the disturbance, it lashed out, a black tendril wrapping around him and pinning his arms to his sides as it dragged him closer and closer to the mirror behind him. He let out a scream, thrashing as hard as he could, fighting in vain to break loose. Resa shrieked in terror as she tried and failed to grab hold of him in time, ending up stumbling forwards and being trapped by another tendril. As the two of them were pulled into the mirror, the scene faded to nothingness…_

"Vakama?" The woman's voice shook him from his thoughts, and the Toa of Fire blinked, looking up and smiling genuinely when he saw who it was.

"Resa! Glad to see that you're out and about." The brunette woman's hair was pulled back loosely in a rather pretty, Victorian style, her gown matching the renaissance era to a tee. All in all, she was remarkably pretty, and Vakama couldn't help but wonder what Nuju would've done or said if he had actually come along. "Enjoying the festivities so far?"

She nodded as she looked him over. "You're hat's on backwards. You know that, right?" Vakama's face went scarlet. So that was why the feather was constantly in his face…

"So… um… anything really exciting happen yet?" He inquired, desperate to take the focus off of his backwards hat, which by this point he was setting about fixing.

Resa shook her head. "No, not really, but I am wondering where Nuju is… is he alright? An obnoxious cowboy mentioned that he was being a stick in the mud…" Vakama knew all too well who the obnoxious cowboy was.

"Oh… so Onewa mentioned that already, eh? To be honest, I'm not sure if he's feeling okay, or of he's just not interested in coming out… we tried calling him down, but he didn't answer. Nokama thinks it might just be a headache, but… well anyway…"

Resa frowned, looking over his expression and saying quietly as she crossed her arms. "You had a vision, didn't you?"

The Toa of Fire cringed at her comment, though he gave a small nod. "Y-yeah… and it wasn't exactly a friendly one… Nuju wasn't in it though… that's… part of what worries me. I think something might be wrong, but I'm not fully certain."

Resa thought over what he said, seeming to be trying to add up the facts. "… we should probably go check on him… just in case he needs help or something. Besides, what if it's something really important that he can't handle?" Vakama wordlessly nodded, considering who they might want to take with them. He didn't want to just go on his own with Resa. He had nothing wrong with her, but he just didn't like the idea of going just the two of them, especially not after his vision. Besides, who knew what Matau might say about it if he decided to blow it out of proportion.

"Well you two aren't going on your own." Onewa's voice commented, startling Vakama and nearly making him drop his hat, as he had been fumbling with it since Resa mentioned that he'd had a vision. "I'm going with you, whether you like it or not." Vakama blinked and looked at Onewa, shakily putting his hat back on.

It wasn't any bit of comfort to the blacksmith when Matau walked over as well. "Well I'm come-travelling with you too." He piped. "Dunno where we're go-walkin', but I'm coming."

Resa gave a small nod. "Alright… Let's go find Nuju then and see what's wrong." As she, Vakama and Onewa turned, Matau just sort of stood there, tilting his head with confusion.

"…huh?"

Vakama glanced back at him. "We'll tell you on the way."

^v^v^v^v^v^v^

**_A side note is that the character named Resa belongs to InTheLight. Check out her stuff, it's all a great read!_**


	3. Chapter 3: Tresspassing Trouble

Once they'd gotten back to Nuju's tower, Matau had gone to try and get the buzzer activated, only to have Resa block his hand. "Let me… he might actually listen if I ask him what's going on." Moving past Matau, Resa pushed the button and spoke into the microphone. "Nuju? It's Resa, are you feeling okay? You said you'd come down tonight..."

At first, there wasn't an answer, though a few seconds later, a much different voice spoke, one that Resa, Vakama, Matau and Onewa didn't recognize. "Nuju can't talk to you right now. He's… having a bit of trouble."

"Trouble?" Resa repeated, sounding worried now. "What do you mean? Who are you?" There wasn't an answer. "Hey, what's happening in there?" Still nothing. Resa looked at the three boys behind her. "Someone get me over the fence."

Vakama blinked, looking startled. "R-Resa, are you sure that's a good idea? We don't even know who that was."

"Exactly." Resa responded as Matau, seeming almost gleeful at the ability to do so, wrapped his arms around Resa's waist, his wings stretching wide. "We don't know who that is. It could be anyone. Nuju might be in serious danger right now. You know how dangerous things always seem to get when Hallows' Trio comes around." The Toa of Fire was still highly uncertain about the idea. What if Nuju was just using this to try and keep people from bothering him? Then again, what if Resa really was right?

Matau lifted off now, flapping his wings as hard as he could and carrying Resa over the fence, setting her down and turning to look at his Brothers. "Are you quick-following, or just staying outside?"

Onewa glanced at Vakama, laughing quietly as he commented. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm not afraid to get my costume ripped." With that, he turned and climbed over the gate, wincing slightly at the sound of tearing fabric as the back of his jacket caught on one of the spokes. "… That didn't sound good."

Vakama just sighed as he reluctantly followed, managing to avoid getting anything snagged on the gate as he jumped down on the other side. "I still have a bad feeling about this…" Straightening out his jacket a little, he looked up at the tower, shivering for reasons other than the cold. "… I really, really don't like this…"

Matau rolled his eyes as he and Onewa headed up the stairs to the tower door, Resa already ahead of them. "What's the matter, Fire-Spitter? Afraid of a ghost-spirit?" Vakama said nothing as he followed after them… jumping back slightly when the door swung open all on its own. Matau just about molted when this happened and he dodged back, wings ruffled and eyes wide. Onewa dodged back as well, though he wasn't severely alarmed. Resa jumped back slightly as well, eyes wide as she tried to figure out who had opened the door.

"There's no-one here… that doesn't make sense…" Glancing at the others, she grimaced before turning and heading inside. Vakama followed after her, his expression somewhat nervous. Nuju never used his mask power to open the door before unless his hands were full, but even still he would've been in sight. Had the mysterious voice known they'd come over the fence?

The interior of the house was just as cold as it was outside, and there were no lights on at all. That was also highly irregular for Nuju, as he almost always had at least some form of light on the ground floor. "Is anyone else starting to think Nuju's lost his marbles?" Onewa asked, squinting around grimly. "He never has the lights off…"

"Vakama," Resa asked softly, seemingly ignoring Onewa's comment. "Can you give us some light, please?" The Toa of Fire gave a slight nod, a fireball forming in his hand and illuminating the room. What their gaze was met with was utter chaos. Broken glass lay strewn across the floor, bits of furniture also notably broken here and there. Now Onewa and Matau shared the worry that Vakama and Resa had.

"That's not good… Nuju doesn't just trash-break his furniture for fun-laughter." That was when the door swung shut behind them, bolting shut and trapping them inside. Matau spun on the spot, eyes wide as he stared at the door. "That's really not good…"

Onewa swallowed, but kept himself steady, looking towards the stairs. They seemed fine enough. He started towards them… only to have the floor drop out underneath him, dropping him out of sight. The last they heard from him was a scream of shock before all went deathly silent, the floor closing up again. Matau lifted off the floor, face pale as he looked around. "Th-this really isn't funny anymore…"

Resa looked horrified, looking around nervously as she carefully made her way towards the stairs, watching for any signs of other traps in the floor. Vakama followed after her, with Matau flying along behind. "Do you think Onewa will be alright?" The mask maker asked with unease. He didn't get an answer, though judging by the expressions that Resa and Matau bore, he wouldn't need someone to speak. They didn't have a clue.


	4. Chapter 4: Blood on the Carpet

Proceeding up the stairs proved harder than it normally would have been. Several seemed to be broken, others coated in a thick layer of ice. Vakama nearly dropped down through several as they broke under his weight. Letting out a yelp as he started falling, he grabbed the nearest solid object he could, dangling over what appeared to be a pit full of absolute nothingness. Matau and Resa reached down, taking hold of his arms and pulling him up. The Toa of Fire shivered violently as he now clung to the stair rail, face ghostly white and eyes wide. "Th-thanks…" He gasped out, knuckles white because of how hard his grip presently was.

Matau and Resa both nodded, the former saying with unease, if not outright fear. "Hey, you might have a few mind-wires crossed, but you're still my Toa-Brother." Normally, Vakama might have felt slightly offended by a comment like this, but for the present he was just glad that Matau cared enough to catch him. The Toa of Air, in the meantime, was looking up the stairwell. "…anyone else find it funny-odd that he's got the window-holes boarded up? I don't think he ever had an issue-problem with bright-light…"

Resa just shook her head as she quietly continued up the stairs. She didn't want to believe it, but she was starting to have that niggling feeling where something was even more severe than originally supposed. "Surely it's not the Brotherhood…" she mumbled under her breath. "They were dealt with ages ago…"

Vakama looked over at her with confusion. "The Brotherhood?" He asked faintly. "… The Makuta?"

Resa gave a grim, somewhat nervous nod. "Yes, that's them… I doubt they're back, but all the same…" She sighed as she shook her head once again. "I just don't know anymore… I just hope Nuju's alright…"

"If he were sure-fine," Matau commented with a quiet huff. "we wouldn't be way-finding our way through his house, avoiding pit-traps and stumble-falling in the dark."

Vakama shuddered at Matau's comment. "Thanks for keeping it positive, Matau…" However, even with his comment he knew that the Air Toa had a very good point. There really was no way of knowing just what was going on, though it was almost a guarantee that Nuju was far from 'okay-fine'.

The second floor wasn't much better than ground floor had been. Smashed bits of furniture and other objects littered the floor, the lights were out, seemingly broken as well, and the floor in general seemed that much more dangerous after Onewa had been swallowed by the one downstairs. Matau shivered as he flew further into the room, looking around through squinted eyes. "Fire-Spitter, can you give us some more light-fire?" Vakama did so without speaking, eyes widening as his gaze fell to the smear of dark red on the floor. Matau and Resa noticed it right away, the former giving a quiet, swallowing noise, and Resa gasping. There was no way to deny what that was.

"Is anyone else getting the feeling that Nuju's choice in company is far from savory?" Vakama asked weakly. He didn't get an answer, though he knew already that he didn't need to – they already shared his thoughts on the matter as it was.

Resa was just staring at the blood stain in horror still, hands shaking a little as she looked along to see where it lead to. "…I-I think there's something in that room over there…" She said quietly, pointing out the door where the blood smear seemed to be going to.

Matau glanced at her. "So, who's volunteering to open-peek through the door?" Vakama and Resa just looked at him. "…that'd be me then…" The Toa of Air notably shivered at the idea of this, but after plucking up his courage, he walked over and reached for the door knob… only to have it swing open on its own, a black gloved hand reaching out and grabbing him by the front of his shirt. "H-hey wh-what?" Without even giving him a chance to fight back, whoever was lurking in the shadows of the other room pulled Matau in and slammed the door shut. Quiet scuffling noises ensued, but all too quickly they were silenced. Resa and Vakama both ran across the room, Vakama throwing the door open and making his fireball glow brighter as he and Resa looked inside…

Only to discover that the room was empty. Matau was gone.


	5. Chapter 5: Washed Up

Resa and Vakama just stared into the now empty room with shock and nothing short of terror on their faces. First Onewa, and now Matau? What would happen next? Who would go next, if either of them went at all? Would they even find Nuju? What if they found him dead? What if they didn't find him at all? And who was it that'd responded over the intercom? Vakama looked nervously over at Resa. "We need to get moving again… Be it trying to get out, or trying to find Nuju. W-we just have to move out."

Resa nodded silently, turning and looking around the room. The stairs were nearby where they were presently. Two levels to go, and two of them. Nuju could be on either of those two levels, as could the owner of the voice. Two more chances to last… or two more lives to lose. That was what it seemed like as the pair proceeded towards the staircase, both looking around with a caution that showed every ounce of their uncertainty and fear. Neither one spoke, both too pre-occupied with keeping an eye on their surroundings. As they went, Resa tried to put some sort of order into what they had heard and seen so far.

First off, Nuju went against his word, something he didn't do if he could help it. Second, Nuju never had company over, especially if he was feeling sick. Third, probably one of the biggest pointers, Nuju never had his house so destroyed looking before in his life as far as Resa knew. Fifth, another huge one, he'd never put traps in his house either. Sixth, he never left a spill uncleaned up, and yet there was a huge blood smear across the floor. Add all this to the fact that a gloved hand had, just moments ago, reached out of a storage closet and pulled Matau inside, only to show there was nothing in the closet, and no Matau, and nothing but chaos could come out as an answer.

"Resa?" Vakama's voice shook her from her thoughts. "A-are we going to keep going now? I-I don't like being in this room at all…"

The young woman gave a small nod as she and Vakama turned and headed up the next flight of stairs, neither saying a word, neither even looking at the other, as though any contact with each other would bring instant doom upon them both.

The next room, aside from the destroyed furnishings and general signs of high disturbance, was remarkably calm seeming. Too calm, it seemed, for Vakama's liking. Glancing around as he and Resa reached the middle of the room, he asked quietly. "Do things seem too… quiet to you?"

Resa gave a small nod, opening her mouth to reply… only to be cut off by the sound of something falling behind them. Vakama and Resa spun around, eyes widening when they saw what appeared to be a large sheet of ice was now blocking the doorway. The sound of something sliding against the doorway to get to the fourth floor was now noticeable, and as the pair turned, they saw that another block of ice was sliding into place.

It was then that the sprinkler system turned on, gushing out more water than probably should have been even close to realistic. Resa and Vakama started to run, water already splashing noisily under their feet. "D-did he ever have a sprinkler system this powerful?" Vakama shouted over the spraying water. Resa just shook her head. She was almost at the door now, and was ahead of Vakama by several steps. The water was slowing him down more than it did her, it seemed. Resa managed to get onto the stairs, turning just in time to see the ice barrier slam shut. Vakama bounced off it, his face white as he pounded on it with his fists. Steam was rising from his frame, though the water seemed to prove too cold for him to allow any fire to be used. Muffled yells and screams for help came from his side of the icy barrier as the water rose steadily higher. Up to his knees one moment, up to his waist the next. By the time it was up to his neck, he was virtually bawling, still screaming and trying to break the ice down. Resa was pounding on the barrier as well, but even with their attacks, it wouldn't break. Just as it reached his chin, Vakama let out a blood-curdling scream, the ice turning black and blotting out all view as the sound of thudding fro his side of the barrier vanished. Resa just stood there in horror, face white and eyes wide as all sounds from the other side of the ice were put to a sudden and eerie halt. Resa was the only one left…


	6. Chapter 6: Reality Bites

For what felt like eternity, Resa just stood frozen on the staircase, staring at the blackened ice wall with nothing short of terror coursing through her. She was terrified of water, and now Vakama had just been swamped with it. He could be dead! As these thoughts hovered over her, Resa started crying, though quietly. Now was the time she wished Nuju was there to get her back on her feet. He'd done it for her before, so why couldn't he be there now? This thought appeared to be enough to get her going up the stairs again, shakily wiping the tears off her face as she tried to focus on what was ahead instead of what had been behind her. She had to find out what was going on, and where Nuju was, even though the others were, as far as she could tell, dead. Steeling herself as best she could, Resa sped up a little, hand gripping the rail tightly as she went. She could hear quiet voices up above now, one muffled and distorted, the other clear and reminding her of the man who'd answered the intercom instead of Nuju. This was it; she was about to see what was going on.

Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Resa found herself in a surprisingly tidy room. Well, compared to the other floors at least. Fewer things were broken on this level, and there was a sense of order about it, not to mention it was dimly lit, unlike the other floors where Vakama's fire was required for them to see properly. It didn't take long for Resa's gaze to fall to the figure lying on the creamy tan colored couch at the far end of the room. His hands tied in front of himself, and his ankles bound together, the pale skinned, white haired man appeared to be gagged, his icy blue eyes wide as he fixed his gaze on Resa. He seemed panicked about something, and struggled against the ropes that held him back as he watched her run towards him. Trying to shout something to her, whatever his meaning was would've come too late. Resa was quite suddenly grabbed from behind, strong arms pinning her own to her sides as that same soft, mysterious and now semi-hypnotic voice spoke in her ear. "I told you he was having some trouble, girl… why did you drag your friends into this nightmare when they could have all been just fine?"

Resa tried to scream, but the figure quickly moved a hand to cover her mouth. "Now now," He said in a mock-scolding tone. "there's no need for that sort of thing." She heard him inhale deeply, seeming as though he were taking in the scent of her perfume. However, his comment brought a much more disturbing theory to her mind. "You smell young and fresh… full of adrenaline too. When the first one went missing, why didn't you try and get outside? It's not that hard to unlatch a door." Resa just struggled to try and get away from him, though it was all in vain. Nuju was glaring at the stranger, whoever he was, his expression one of anger and strong dislike. "No need to look at me like that, Nuju. I only did it to keep them safe. You are a loose cannon right now."

Now the figure let go of Resa, pushing her towards the couch as he commented. "You see girl, your boyfriend got himself attacked by a rather rough crowd. If you'll look more closely, you'll see that he's got his scarf wrapped up tighter than usual. Don't touch him though, he might bite."

Resa turned and glared at the figure, expression one of fear and unease as she said quietly. "What do you mean he might 'bite' me? Who are you, wh-where are the others?"

The figure just rolled his eyes, adjusting his very Phantom of the Opera-esque mask as he said with annoyance. "Honestly, do you ever stop demanding? I tell you Nuju's in trouble so you come in to try and take him. All through the way up here you keep on persisting and eventually get all of your friends captured, and now that I actually let you see the damage you demand more. What is it with women these days? I swear, they were never this demanding when I was younger… No matter though." He moved back and leaned against the wall near the door, his ruby red eyes seeming to show that he didn't care too much in the slightest about what was going on. "Go ahead and un-gag him if you really want to see what sort of trouble he got himself into."

Resa didn't give an answer to the well tanned figure that seemed so uncaring that it was maddening. Instead she turned back to Nuju and shakily got the gag off… eyes widening when she saw that his canines had elongated, their tips far sharper and more pointed than before. The tied up Toa of Ice, on the other hand, just looked up at her with uncertainty. "I didn't even have time to react…" He said quietly. "It… It just happened. I couldn't stop him… he… he bit me. Th-then everything went funny… by the time I was fully myself again, I was here…"

Resa shakily nodded, piecing together what was going on as she shakily brushed the hair out of his eyes before looking at the masked figure. "Y-you… y-you turned him into a vampire, d-didn't you?"

A smirk crossed the masked man's partially hidden face. "Well, not me exactly. And he's not fully a vampire. But… yeah, you could say that. But hey, he got lucky; he's not so stuck with it that he's gotta bite people. That's something I'm stuck with." When Resa's eyes widened and her face went as white as Nuju's hair was, the figure laughed. "Relax, I ate on the way over."

That was when Nuju spoke again, struggling to get himself more comfortable. "Where are the others… I know you did something to them. Where are they?"

"Tucked away where they won't hurt anyone." The man responded with amusement. "The basement, actually. Vakama too, in fact. I'd considered saving them as a midnight snack if I got hungry again, but since they seem so important, I'll find something else to munch on." He then lazily tossed Resa a set of keys; Nuju's keys, to be exact. "Go get your friends. And try not to let your boyfriend touch sunlight; there's no knowing just what will happen to him, and it'd be a shame if such a pretty face got scorched." With that and a quiet laugh, the figure vanished into the shadows. Loud clicks, snaps and the noise of things sliding around came from the floors below, betraying that the traps that had been set were now gone. Perhaps even the water had been removed?

Resa just shuddered before turning and hurriedly trying to untie Nuju's hands, her own trembling violently as she worked at the ropes. She wanted to say something, anything to get rid of the silence. However, her mind was blank. The thought that Nuju was a vampire, or at least partially one, terrified her to no end. "W-why…" She whispered finally. "Wh-why did this have to happen?"

"I have no idea…" Nuju replied quietly, rubbing his wrists once they were untied. "But I'm just 'bout willing to break the Code to try and get things set straight…" Now he saw that Resa was soaking wet. "I told him that was a bad idea… he just didn't listen… what is it with people and ignoring important things like that… a-are the others okay? Wh-who got trapped in the water?"

Resa shivered again, untying his ankles before replying. "V-Vakama did…" She couldn't bring herself to say more about it though, images of his terrified expression flashing through her mind at what seemed like a hundred Kios an hour. "W-we have to get to the basement…" Nuju just nodded in silence as he sat up, shaking his head as he eventually pushed himself to his feet, holding Resa close as he did so. Going by his expression, it was obvious he was worried, both about Resa's condition, and that of the others.

"Come on," he said quietly. "I-I'll explain what I can once everyone's okay. Just don't let go." She gave a weak nod, holding onto his arm and leaning her head against his frame as he gently lead her across the room, back towards the stairs, and back towards the floors below.


	7. Chapter 7: Round Two

A while later, Resa and Nuju had their three friends outside, Vakama wrapped up in a thick jacket that Nuju'd had from a long while ago, though just where he got it was anyone's guess. Resa looked the others over shakily. "So… what do we do now?"

Nuju shook his head, seeming highly uneasy as he looked towards his tower again. "I… I can't go out like this… I-it's too dangerous. What if that… that lunatic was right? What if I bite someone and make things worse?"

Matau looked at the others, rubbing the back of his head where he'd been smashed by someone's fist. "Well… he has a sharp-strong point… no pun-joke intended."

Nuju just sighed as he shook his head, turning to go back into what was left of his home. "It's too dangerous for me to go with you… Just… too dangerous." He didn't give anyone a chance to answer before he went back inside, leaving Resa and the other three standing there.

Resa shivered a little, shaking her head as she said softly. "We have to find a way to stop this…" She looked at the others now, shivering a little as she asked. "Do you think Whenua would know anything about this?"

"It's Whenua." Onewa replied, glaring after Nuju as though it were the Ice Toa's fault. "Of course he'd know something. He knows a little bit about everything. We just have to go back to the party and find the world's weirdest ninja."

Matau made a very sour face. "What I want to know is if Nuju-Brother was the one that crack-bashed in my skull or not."

"It wasn't." Resa replied quietly, turning and looking around the street, since she'd had the odd feeling that someone was watching them. "…it was someone else… it was the one that spoke to us over the intercom before we even went in there. I just hope he doesn't come back for round two…"

Vakama shivered as he rubbed his arms, still trying to warm up after being in frigid water. "If there's a round two," he said quietly. "I want nothing of it…"

"It's a little late for that." Onewa grumbled irritably. "Considering Nuju's all fang-tastic now. Leaving him like that would be, though maybe a little amusing, just wrong. Besides, I don't want to be on the menu if he gets hungry."

"Don't say that." Resa said, her tone mildly sharp as she shook her head. "Just… just don't even go there, Onewa… come on, let's find Whenua before something else does." That seemed to be the general consensus for everyone, and they had soon departed, each one feeling as though some new horror was going to find them even before they reached Whenua.

Sadly, their hunches were all quite correct, because not even five minutes out of Ko-Metru, they came across a body, skin white and expression horrified. The Ga-Matoran appeared as though she had been dressed up as a sailor of sorts, her hair all done up in a cute little braided bun. The sailor cap she'd been wearing lay abandoned nearby, having fallen off when she was attacked. Two puncture marks were visible on her neck, and going by how pale she was, she was either dead, or very close to it. Matau seemed to recognize her at once, because he hurried closer and knelt down, his cherry red eyes wide as he checked her pulse… only to find that it was too late. This girl was dead. Shakily, the Toa of Air stood and turned, looking back at the others with unease and obvious signs of sadness on his face. "She… she was supposed to see-meet me at the party…" He said quietly. "I-I just thought-figured she was running behind on her time-schedule…"

Resa's expression saddened as she heard what Matau said. Vakama looked a bit panicky, as though he were afraid they'd end up finding Nokama's body somewhere now that he'd seen what happened to the girl Matau had a crush on. Onewa, however, spoke up, his tone unamused. "Okay, first Nuju gets all toothy, and now we find a dead girl? Sheesh, what ever happened to having a fun evening?" His comment went ignored as the others all seemed frozen in time, trying to figure out what to do next, and how to go about it. If people were starting to be attacked out in the open like this, who knew where the next strike could be. Only one thing was certain now; they were on the clock, and time was officially starting to run out.


End file.
